Winter Olympics 2014 TV Coverage and Schedule on NBC

Press Release, Stamford, Conn. – December 17, 2013 – NBC Olympics will utilize NBCSN, the NBC Sports Group’s Emmy Award-winning 24/7 sports network that is distributed in approximately 80 million homes, to present more than 230 hours of coverage of the XXII Olympic Winter Games 2014 from Sochi, Russia, this February. It will be the most Winter Olympic TV coverage ever on a cable network.

NBCSN’s Winter Olympics 2014 TV Coverage highlights include:

– The most comprehensive live coverage of the Sochi competition day;
– The network serving as the cable home for Team USA;
– Starting Saturday, February 8, when NBCSN’s Olympic coverage begins, the network will feature complete, live coverage of figure skating;
– In addition to its extensive figure skating coverage, the network will feature live coverage of 10 more sports, including speed skating, bobsled, ski jumping, Nordic combined, and more.
– Team USA vs. Russia in men’s hockey on Saturday, Feb. 15.

NBCSN’s Olympic coverage begins Saturday, February 8 at 3 a.m. ET/Midnight PT, when Team USA faces Finland in women’s hockey, and concludes Sunday, February 23, the final day of the Sochi Games. NBCSN will air at least one gold medal final live each day through its 16 days of coverage. Most days, live coverage on NBCSN will begin at 3 a.m. ET and continue for 12 hours.

NBCSN will complement the Olympic programming airing on NBC, the details of which will be released shortly. It was announced in November that CNBC will carry 36 hours of Olympic curling coverage, MSNBC will host 45 hours of live curling and hockey, including medal rounds, and USA Network will serve up 43 hours of live curling and hockey coverage, including medal rounds. It was also announced that NBCOlympics.com will live stream all Sochi Olympics competition. The vast majority of live streaming will only be available to authenticated cable, satellite or telco customers via “TV Everywhere,” the media industry’s effort to make quality content available to authenticated customers both in and out of the home, and on multiple platforms. For more information on the Olympic coverage being provided by CNBC, MSNBC, USA Network and NBCOlympics.com, please click here http://nbcsportsgrouppressbox.com/shows/nbc-olympics/.

FIGURE SKATING TV SCHEDULE

NBCSN’s complete live figure skating coverage begins Saturday, February 8 at 9:30 a.m. ET with the team event, which makes its Olympic debut in Sochi. The event will be featured prominently in NBCSN’s first weekend of coverage and pits countries against each other in every figure skating discipline. Each team includes six skaters: one male, one female, one pair and one ice dance couple.

Following coverage of the team event, NBCSN will show every performance and every skater of the pairs, men’s, ice dancing and ladies competitions. Reigning ice dancing world champions and 2010 Olympic silver medalists Meryl Davis and Charlie White are expected to compete for Team USA in Sochi in the team event as well as ice dancing.

NBCSN will present 16 men’s live hockey games through the bronze medal game, including qualifying, playoff, quarterfinal and semifinal games. Live men’s hockey medal-round coverage begins Tuesday, February 18 at 3 a.m. ET. The network will air three Team USA qualifying-round games, including Team USA vs. Russia on Saturday, February 15 at 7:30 a.m. ET.

Russia, an Olympic hockey power since the time of the Soviet Union, has dominated the rivalry with the exception of two U.S. upsets, which led to Team USA’s two gold medals (1960, 1980). The rivalry between the two nations dates to the time of the former Soviet Union’s first Olympic hockey appearance in 1956, when the Soviets defeated the Americans for the gold medal, their first of seven in the sport. Team USA games beyond the qualifying round are TBD.

NBCSN’s women’s hockey coverage features seven live games through the semifinal round and the bronze medal game. Qualifying-round coverage is highlighted by three Team USA games, including Team USA vs. Canada on Wednesday, February 12 at 7:30 a.m. ET.

Since women’s hockey was added to the Olympic program at the 1998 Nagano Games, Team USA and Canada have competed in the gold medal game in three of the four Olympics, with Canada winning twice (2002, 2010) and the U.S. once (1998).

NBCSN’s Olympic coverage begins with Team USA facing Finland in women’s hockey on Saturday, February 8 at 3 a.m. ET. Team USA games beyond the qualifying round are TBD.

NBCSN will present live coverage of 11 Olympic sports throughout the Games, including live gold medal coverage of events in bobsled, Nordic combined, cross-country skiing, speed skating, and ski jumping, including women’s ski jumping, which debuts as an event in Sochi.

THE OLYMPICS BEGIN FEB. 6, 2014

With more Winter Olympic events than ever before, competition for the 2014 Olympic Winter Games from Sochi, Russia, will begin one day prior to the Opening Ceremony. As a result, NBC will begin its primetime coverage of the 2014 Sochi Olympics on Thursday, February 6, one night before the broadcast network provides its traditional coverage of the Opening Ceremony on Friday February 7. This marks the first time NBC will air Olympic primetime coverage before the Opening Ceremony. The primetime broadcast on Thursday, February 6, 2014, is scheduled to include competition in snowboard slopestyle (men’s and women’s), in which two-time gold medalist Shaun White is expected to compete in slopestyle’s Olympic debut; team figure skating, which is also in the Olympics for the first time; and women’s freestyle moguls.